


An Epic Reunion

by AliasPsy47



Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-05
Packaged: 2018-02-11 07:23:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2059110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliasPsy47/pseuds/AliasPsy47
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever wonder what happened after the screen faded away before getting the rest of the story during the Veronica Mars Movie. This is my version of what happened next. Including what motivated the characters to act as they did. A few flashbacks from the nine years of radio silence will also be included.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One - Monday

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing anything in the VM fandom. This was originally going to be a small ficlet, but as I started to write I realized that I had more in my head than I had originally thought. The plot bunny originated in the VM Rewatch chat from July 29th. So I have to thank the ladies there for the conversation that led me here. Also I have read so much fan fiction in the VM world that some of it has become canon for me. So if you recognize an idea that you had in your story, here in mine it is only meant to compliment. Let me know if an idea was yours, and I will give you 100% credit! I'm just horrible with remembering where each story came from. 
> 
> But the idea that @Marshmallowtasha had placed into my head about Mac keeping Logan and Veronica being the catalyst to bringing them back together, definitely inspired my version of Mac and Veronica's relationship during the nine years. 
> 
> -These perfectly flawed characters belong to Rob Thomas, I'm just taking them for a road trip.-

Leaving the Truman Mann offices, Veronica was ecstatic; she couldn’t wait to share her news with her dad; she barely made it out of the office before turning her phone on to tell him how well the interview had gone. Overall, Veronica was pleased with her restraint when answering the questions. She had resisted correcting Gayle Buckley when she said she had gotten her PI license for her 18th birthday, instead of  just before her 20th. She wasn’t pleased when they brought up that horrid sex tape scandal either; but she knew that she handled it in a way they thought was appropriate.  Ignore the moment that doesn’t matter, but defend properly when she should. It was one of the many lessons she’d learned in law school.  Although in her mind when it was mentioned, she envisioned Logan using Gorya Sorokin as a punching bag and it brought a glint into her eyes that hadn’t been there for almost 9 years; once the moment had passed, so had her thoughts of Logan. When her dad picked up the phone she could hear the smile coming across the line.

“Who’s your Daddy?” Keith knew that Veronica calling him at 3pm his time meant only good things, she usually reserved her calls for the weekends and evenings.

“You are, but can you _please_ stop saying that? I’m 28 years old, and I’m pretty sure I’ll soon have the means to buy myself that pony that you never ended up getting for me.” Veronica waited to see if Keith understood what she was implying.

Keith paused for a brief moment before realizing what his daughter had accomplished. She was going to turn out to be so much better than he was and better than what the town of Neptune generally produced. “You aced the interview I’m guessing then? But tell me now if there was any blackmailing involved.”

Veronica laughed and happily reminded him that she was no longer that person. Not since she left Neptune.  

At those words, Keith knew that he had to prevent Veronica from finding out what was happening in Neptune.  He wasn’t sure how he would make that happen from across the country, but he had to try anyway. “So after a successful interview today, when is the second interview? You have one right?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t have called about the pony otherwise,” Veronica told her father. “I’m meeting with one of the partners tomorrow. Then hopefully I’ll be working for Truman Mann, making sure that frivolous lawsuits never make it into the courtroom.” Veronica sighed; she knew this wasn’t the job she really wanted, but it was the job that she could easily do, and it was the fastest way to pay off her student loans. “Hopefully I can work there long enough to pay off my student loans and then do something useful with my law degree; something that helps people, not corporations.” A sudden uneasiness rose in her voice.

“I am so proud of you though. My daughter a New York City lawyer. Plus it’s not as if you’re working at Kane Software helping Jake Kane become richer.” Keith knew that Veronica had originally wanted to become a prosecutor, working for the District Attorney. The injustice of the Aaron Echolls case had inspired her choice of pursuing a law degree, but he had talked her out of it. He didn’t want her anywhere near anything dangerous. The things he allowed her to do in high school still made him feel guilty.

Veronica laughed at the thought of working for Jake Kane; Weidman would’ve seen her come in the door for an interview and immediately escorted her out of the building. “I guess you’re right, Dad. Hey, I’m going down into the subway station and I’m going to lose you, but I’ll call you later.”

“Veronica, before you go- ” The call was dropped. Keith kicked himself for making a stupid joke about working for Jake Kane instead of telling her to go home and spend the night studying for the bar. Even though she had done well in the interview, she still had a lot of studying to do. He should’ve told her to go straight home with no detours. But there was no way to tell her that now, at least not without her getting suspicious. He could only hope that she didn’t go anywhere near a radio, newsstand or TV. That should be simple enough in New York, right? Who was he kidding, though? Veronica would see through any attempt he would make and it would only make her more curious.  He knew that even though she had vehemently said that she would never come back to Neptune, he would be seeing her sooner than he would like.

Enjoying her moment of making her dad proud, Veronica decided on a whim to stop by and see Piz; she knew it would make him happy. Veronica avoided most things that reminded her of Neptune, okay lets be real for a moment, she avoided anything that would remind her of Logan. Even though she had met Piz in Neptune, Piz had never really belonged there. After their breakup in college she had wondered how he had made it through the one year of living in Neptune. He had never quite understood the dynamics of the town. Being with him again wasn’t hard, although at times when he would too easily give in to what she wanted, she would briefly wonder if Piz and Duncan would’ve gotten along. They both could be described as lovers and not fighters. As Piz had once told her; although sheep without a shepherd would work as well.

Piz never understood why she would refuse to buy pears, throw away a pear scented bath set, or even immediately throw his pear in the trash if he ever bought one to eat. But he never questioned it, and soon enough he stopped buying pears.  Piz also never questioned why she winced at anyone wearing a white tux, or why he always had to use the key card at any hotel, or her refusal to eat anywhere that served Buffalo Burgers.  He knew that he didn’t really want to hear her answers, and he was sure that she would just blow him off with a sarcastic remark instead of the truth anyway. The fact that he never attempted it just reminded Veronica of how easy it all was, the simplicity of being with Piz.

The only time he ever questioned her odd reactions was when, after their third date the second time around, he told her that it was “fucking epic” to finally be back together with her. She looked shocked and was silent for a whole minute, something that he had never witnessed in all of his time with her at Hearst. When her silence dragged on too long, he finally asked her if she felt the same way. She got this gleam in her eye that he had never seen before, and then she slapped him. When she came in close to his face, he thought he might piss himself for a moment, and even though she was whispering, it felt more like she was yelling. “We are not _EPIC_! We will _NEVER_ be _EPIC_! Do not ever use that word near me again.” And then she had stormed off. He had heard that Veronica could be dramatic, and fierce, but he had only seen glimpses of it before and never like _that_. When she called the next day to apologize, she told him a lie, that Lily had called their friendship epic, and that she didn’t like it when other people used the word. That word was reserved for only one person.  What she didn’t say was that she wanted to be normal, and epic was not an option that she could entertain. She couldn’t be in a relationship that people write songs about.

She could talk with her dad and with Wallace. They were Neptune and they never mentioned Logan. But Mac was a different story; Mac would always be her best girlfriend, as long as she didn’t count Lily. But Veronica could never tell if Mac was purposely giving her just a taste of what she wanted to hear, or if it was by accident. Every time she and Mac talked, Logan’s name would somehow ease its way into the conversation. But Mac always liked Logan, she had seen him with Parker, and had seen that he wasn’t the bad boy everyone in Neptune had made him out to be. Veronica often thought that she and Mac were the only ones to really know Logan; she didn’t really count Dick, but nobody ever really counted Dick anyway, except for maybe Logan himself.

When Mac had casually mentioned at the end of their conversation years earlier that Logan was going to be a pilot for the Navy, Veronica had nearly fainted. Ending  the call quickly, she sat in the middle of her almost furnished dorm at Stanford for nearly an hour, possibly longer, her mind wandering aimlessly, stumbling over itself unaware of the time. She tried as hard as she could to picture Logan, of all people, dressed in Navy whites, but she couldn’t ever get the image right in her head. Then the thought of Logan in the Navy whites had brought back memories of  going to Fleet Week in San Diego with Lily. Lily and Veronica were always gushing about how cute the sailors were.

Ever since that phone call she wondered in the back of her mind if she would be to blame if he were ever to get injured or, God forbid, killed in the line of duty. She never admitted as much to Mac, but Mac must have sensed something because she would always let Veronica know if Logan was deployed and would make sure let slip any information she could without being obvious about it to make sure that Veronica knew that Logan was safe. Veronica didn’t like to admit it, but it was one of the reasons she didn’t keep as closely in contact with Mac as she should have. She was always afraid that one day Mac would tell her the news that she had been dreading ever since finding out he enlisted.

 As Veronica walked through the doors to _This American Life_ , she tried to get Neptune out of her mind and focus on her normal, albeit boring, but safe, life in New York. She tried to refocus on Piz, who she knew would fit into that nice normal life that her Dad wanted for her. Even if it was something that she would have to act unnaturally to accomplish.

While Piz was finishing up his piece on Zhi House, he looked over and saw Veronica. He couldn’t believe his eyes but he quickly smiled and signed off.  They walked back to his desk and talked about how her interview went. She explained that it had gone well, even though their most famous - or rather infamous - moment was brought up. She blew off his concern by telling him that she had another interview the next day and joked that maybe then they’d talk about STDs.

Despite her deflection, Piz knew that she was upset that they had brought up the sex tape. That was another thing he never fully understood. He had never liked the idea of being taped while they attempted - and ultimately failed - at having sex for the first time. But he blew it off as a mistake that happens at college. It was something that they could sometimes joke about now, but it was not really brought up if it could be avoided. Back in college, he never understood Veronica’s drive to get revenge on whoever made that tape. He knew that in finding out who did it, she had put herself in a compromising position with the law and that Keith had done something to make sure that she wouldn’t be charged with anything, effectively making him lose the election for Sheriff.  It ultimately broke them up as well as made her leave Neptune, never looking back. He had taken Logan’s apology with a grain of salt, after all Logan had apologized to him right after beating up another guy. Logan had even smiled when the guy had told him that he was going to die. Who did that? One day after Veronica left town, Wallace told him that sex tapes in general were not a topic that Veronica or Logan took lightly. But Wallace never really explained why.

He didn’t want to get into a touchy subject with Veronica, especially when they were doing so well as a couple. She was in his office for the first time, and she had agreed to meet his parents the next week. Things were going well for him and he didn’t want anything tipping those scales so he just chuckled along with her, wondering why she would think they would ever bring up STDs with her anyway. Suddenly, her cell phone pinged an alert. Wallace was once again trying to get her to come back to Neptune, this time for their High School reunion. Piz thought of Wallace as a brother, but knew that if he and Veronica were to split up again, he wouldn’t just lose Veronica, he’d lose Wallace as well. Piz knew that as much as Wallace would beg for her to come back, there was  nothing that would entice Veronica to go back to that screwed up town.

Seeing Ira Glass standing two feet away from her, Veronica was a little star struck, although her version of star struck would always be a little different from most people’s. She had grown up attending parties with the rich and famous, so she was actually able to communicate with them rather than just stare and then eventually say something she would later regret. After explaining why she was never around, she became comfortable enough around him to tell him that she did a wicked impression of him, but before she could get all the words out, Piz had stopped her.  Veronica found it a little funny, although she wouldn’t tell Piz that even though Ira Glass was his boss, Piz still treated him like an idol. He never wanted to say the wrong thing, and was always aiming to impress him. He didn’t understand that celebrities were just like other humans.

In fact, Piz was now defending himself about Veronica’s reasons for not stopping by  the office before as well as their history, and how she was finally going to meet his parents. As Piz talked, something on the TV caught her attention. Carrie Bishop, or Bonnie Deville as people now knew her, was back in the spotlight.

She tried to focus just on the screen, but a twang of jealousy momentarily erupted knowing that Carrie and Logan had recently been an item. Veronica resented herself for still feeling any type of jealousy when it came to Logan, she knew she had no right, but as hard as she tried to fight it, she knew that her body still craved Logan. Veronica realized that the way she craved Logan’s touch could be as dangerous to her as vodka had been to Lianne. She had spent so much time over the last few years trying to shut that desire down. The last thing that Veronica wanted was to be like Lianne, it was one of the main reasons she had left California. Even just being in the same state as Logan she sensed his attraction and it was too hard to fight.

But the jealousy quickly died as she realized why Carrie was in the spotlight once again. Carrie was dead. _Another_ person had abandoned Logan. She didn’t know of any other serious girlfriends that he had after she left; only the ones that the tabloids reported on, that type of update was not the type that her sporadic conversations with Mac covered. But she instantly thought of the loss that Logan must be going through. Bringing her out of her stupor in front of the screens, Piz said her name, almost stuttering the first syllable, like he knew just by seeing what she was looking at that it meant trouble in paradise for him.

Veronica unsuccessfully tried to draw her eyes from the plethora of screens that lined the walls she tells them that Bonnie Deville was found dead in her bathtub. Ira Glass commented sympathetically, and then asked if she was a fan.  

“I went to high school with her,” she offered, not answering his question. “She was Carrie Bishop back then.”  Piz had his full attention on Veronica now; the fear so visible that it brimmed his eyes, his hands stuffed into his pockets, hoping that they can make it home without any more mention of the subject.

Piz said his goodbyes to Ira and the other co-workers as he got ready to go. Veronica was very quiet, none of her usual quips come out, but Piz took it in stride as one of those things that Veronica doesn’t talk about. He knew that in general, besides stories of her with Wallace or Mac, her high school life was off limits in any conversation.  So he figured that Bonnie or Carrie, whatever her name was, must have been part of what made Veronica, well, Veronica. They exited the building and Piz quickly grabbed a taxi, and opened the door for the woman who was no longer beside him.

Coming out of Piz’s building Veronica noticed the newsstand right in front of the entrance. She’d always avoided the tabloids. She grew up knowing the real stories, and so what was the point of reading about the newest celebrity; they all hid some kind of secret. She had found out enough of the secrets of the rich and famous when she was in high school to last her a lifetime. But seeing Carrie on the cover of _Entertainment Weekly_ after learning of her sudden death was disheartening. Even if she and Carrie hadn’t been close they didn’t hate each other either. Plus Carrie had been willing to give her valuable information when she had needed it most her junior year, even after Veronica had tried to prove that Carrie had been a liar. Seeing her fame rise to the point of being on the cover of a magazine only to die the same week was a coincidence that only Neptune could provide.

Putting back the magazine she lifted up one of the worst tabloid rags, PSST and saw that they were reporting Bonnie as being unfaithful to Logan, with the lying scumbag Sean Friedrich from high school.  Even better, she thought, not only another person abandoning Logan, but cheating on him as well.

It seemed as if everyone who was supposed to love Logan eventually abandoned him. Not only did they leave him, but they had made sure to make him suffer first. First Lily cheated on him every chance she got, but made it worse by cheating on him with his father; the same father who regularly beat and tortured Logan, and who killed the so-called love of his life. Then his mother left him by ending her own life, leaving Logan on his own with his father, leaving no buffer between them. Not that she had been serving as much of a buffer in her later days anyway. Even his best friend ended up leaving him, but before leaving he had taken up a relationship with Logan’s most recent ex, herself. Not a moment she was exactly proud of though.  Even Aaron left him, although not by going to prison like he should have, but by being shot execution-style. Veronica knew that she was the only one who knew that while Logan hated his father, part of him mourned him as well. Trina left him too, but Veronica wondered if she should even count Trina, she wasn’t really there to support him in the first place. She had even blamed Logan for accusing their dad of abuse and was ashamed that Logan would testify against Aaron at the trial. Now Logan’s latest girlfriend was out and about with an old friend of his, and she ended up dead too.

The only thing that could make Veronica feel worse was if they tried to pin this Neptune death on him. Veronica didn’t really believe in a higher power, after all they had worshiped the padres on Christmas growing up, but she looked up and hoped that Logan could mourn without being accused of a crime this time. _Please!_

Hearing Piz’s voice once again brought Veronica back to the present, but even as she got into the cab with Piz her mind was on Logan.  How had she gone almost nine whole years without seeing or speaking to Logan? What did that say about her? What was it that she used to always say about her own mother and to her high school clients looking for parental closure? “The hero is the one who stays; the villain is the one who leaves.” Did she count herself in with the group of people that had abandoned Logan? While in the cab she contemplated what she now knew of Logan. Mac had told her that he had gotten his life together. The Navy was really good for him, who would’ve thought that a little discipline and structure was what Logan needed the most.  But more recently he had been all over the tabloids, again. First for dating Carrie, then for beating up a member of the paparazzi (again), and then for threatening Carrie’s life; although she had never really believed that last one.

  
Logan was a lot of things and he was capable of hurting someone when they had wronged him, Piz was a fine example for that, but he would never lay a finger on someone that he truly cared about. Her thoughts about Logan were interrupted when the cabbie changed the station to the news in the middle of a story about Carrie explaining that Bonnie Deville was electrocuted in her bathtub, and that the local authorities have determined it to be a homicide. In the brief moment before the radio announcer went on, Veronica realized what was about to be said, and almost glared at the radio. Logan was going to be blamed, once again being accused of killing his girlfriend. At least _she_ wasn’t the one accusing him this time. And there it was, they did it, Neptune’s Sheriff’s Department was doing a fine job of investigating once again.

On the cab ride home to their apartment, Piz and Veronica didn’t speak. Piz knew what was on her mind, and it scared him. This was one of those things that could tip the scales of their relationship in the wrong direction if he said the wrong thing. Yes, the new Veronica was, for the most part, a calmer less volatile Veronica, but he knew what she was like before and the subjects that she was very protective of. She may have cut off contact from Logan Echolls, but Piz still hated him and knew that if anyone could ruin the relationship he had going with Veronica it would be him. Logan was probably able to do it with just one look, or a single word. That is how much Logan affected Veronica.

Piz should’ve realized it back in college when she told him “Why settle for something not good just because it’s something.”

He had replied with, “Especially when you know the difference, which not many people do.” He had even asked her if she knew the difference.

Piz remembered her stumbling over the words a little, but finally putting down her fork and telling him that she thought she did. He thought that they shared a moment. They had parted as friends, but he had planned on starting to woo her the next morning only to find that Logan was there and they were kissing again. It was almost as if his words had somehow brought Veronica and Logan back together.

He wasn’t going to make that mistake again; he would be watching his words carefully for the next few days, although the thought of Logan Echolls in jail did lighten his mood a little. Just looking at Veronica though, Piz knew that those scales would be very loose until this blew over.

Upon hearing that Logan was in fact being accused of a third murder, another one that she was sure he didn’t commit, Veronica shut her eyes and thought back to the little house that her family had before everything in her life was turned upside down. She thought of the Serenity Prayer that is recited at AA meetings, she had thought at the time that her dad had placed it there for her alcoholic mom’s benefit, but it had stayed up on the fridge after she left and even made it to the fridge in the new apartment that Keith and Veronica had called home. Was that her dad’s way of reminding her to find a way to know the difference between what she can change and what she can’t?

When Piz and Veronica arrived back at their apartment, Veronica surprisingly had no appetite, and told Piz that she needed to study and research more about Truman Mann so she would be ready for anything they threw at her during her interview. Even though Veronica’s thoughts were mostly occupied with Logan, she knew that she wasn’t lying to Piz; she had to prepare for the interview the next day. Even her dad had sent her a text reminding her that she didn’t have the job yet, that she really should have a quiet night in, turn off all distractions and just study. Veronica, unable to resist sticking it to her dad for his attempt at being coy, responded with; ‘ _Sorry dad, already saw Logan on the news, I’m on the way to the airport now. We’ve talked and we’re planning on dating while I serve as his defense. I’m sure those conjugal visits are going to be a pain in the ass though._ ’ Veronica went to hit send, but thought better of it. She knew that sending a response like that would only force her to engage in an unwanted conversation about Logan and how she had a perfect life in New York. She wasn’t ready for that with her dad. So she deleted the response and let him think that his attempt was working.

While Veronica was studying, and from what Piz could see she was actually studying and not brooding over Logan, he ate a quick dinner, and did a little research of his own for the Zhi House story, making sure that all of his ducks were in a row. Piz went to tell Veronica that it was time for bed, but knew from experience that she would tell him that she’d be there soon. The past few weeks of her nonstop studying was driving him crazy. Sure back in college he could handle that they never had sex, but now they were 28 and because of the bar exam, he had to help himself out more than he liked to admit. As predicted Piz was sent off to bed with a single kiss. Veronica probably should’ve mentioned that the orange pajama pants that he had bought because they were the warmest he could find for a New York winter made her libido completely disappear, but she was happy to let him think that they weren’t having sex only because she was too stressed out with the upcoming bar exam and all the interviews she was doing. Especially tonight, when Logan’s words echoed in her head, “If cuddling was the best part, he isn’t doing it right.”

Veronica knew how to study and think about other things, otherwise there was no way that she could’ve gotten her 4.0 in high school. It was second nature to her. She could only remember a few times that she couldn’t get her mind to focus on what she had to study, like she was doing tonight. And if she remembered correctly, most of those times involved Logan, in one way or another. When Piz had gone to bed, she looked through her phone contacts and stopped at Logan’s name. She pulled up his contact page and looked at his picture. When she had upgraded to this newer smarter phone, she had felt nostalgic and pulled one of Logan’s pictures from an encrypted file on her laptop.She had encrypted it so that no one could accidentally open the file and ask her about the boy in the pictures. She had even named the folder that contained his pictures S.Y.&C., that way even if someone found their way in, it would hopefully just look like another case file. Nobody had to know that the S.Y.&C. stood for Spanning Years & Continents.

Veronica picked out a picture that reminded her of her Logan for his contact photo. Not necessarily boyfriend Logan, but of the boy that she grew up with and had lived through more bloodshed and ruined lives than anyone deserved. But it was also the boy/man that knew her better than she knew herself. She thought about calling him to see if there was anything she could do, but then thought better of it. The number attached to the picture probably wasn’t even his anymore. Plus she hadn’t even looked at a case since she investigated her own sex tape scandal. That case alone carried along with it the regret of the friendships she had lost, the cost of a good career for her father, and the loss of any chance of having a relationship with Logan again. No way would he still love her after the way she had treated him. She would be no good to him, she lived on the other side of the country, and she had lost her confidence in her investigating skills. She put down the phone knowing that calling Logan would only complicate her life. She had normal, it was the watchword again.

Only the problem was, Veronica wouldn’t be Veronica if she didn’t at least look at the evidence. She was a lawyer after all, well practically, so looking into it wouldn’t really be that big of a deal would it? Just to see what the court of public opinion was saying about the situation. So she went into the bedroom, luckily Piz had left the computer on, like always, she at least wouldn’t be waking him up with new light in the room, or the slight buzz that the computer gave off when it started up.  Earbuds in, she watched the video of the new Sheriff Lamb telling the press that they found Logan passed out next to Deville’s body as well as the video that Maria Vasquez mentioned of Logan threatening Bonnie. Seething, Veronica wondered how people saw that as Logan threatening Carrie. All he was doing was getting rid of someone, Sean Friedrich in fact, and telling Sean that he wasn’t welcome in what looked like their house.  He simply told Carrie she needed to get rid of him, or she’d end up dead. Logan was in protective mode. That was no threat on Carrie’s life. After seeing the videos Veronica could see that the new Sheriff Lamb was dumber than his little brother. If Logan was passed out next to Bonnie wouldn’t it be logical to think that he was possibly a victim as well?

What the hell was happening in Neptune? Hopefully Logan would at least ask her dad for help. Keith would see through the picture that they were painting Logan out to be. But then Veronica remembered that when she left, she let it be known that Logan was no good for her. So would her dad actually help him, even if Logan did come to him? Granted Veronica had seen her father take on other cases for people he disliked, and helped them. But then again look where that got him? Kendall was dead, as well as Cormac Fitzpatrick. Veronica didn’t mourn their deaths, but she knew that they still haunted Keith.

Veronica finally fell into bed; she was exhausted. She had dealt with more emotions in the last seven hours than she had dealt with in the last seven years. In fact if she really thought about it, the last time she was this emotionally exhausted was after hearing that Logan had joined the Navy and was training to be a pilot. She had always heard about the planes catapulting off of the ships, and it scared her to death to think of Logan doing that. This whole situation with Logan didn’t feel right, especially the part where Logan had been found passed out next to Carrie’s body.  She knew that there was no way that he could’ve killed her, but he definitely could’ve been a victim. The last thought that went through her head was the simple question, had Logan been electrocuted as well?

 


	2. Day Two - Part One Tuesday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning events from Day Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Just taking Rob Thomas's characters for a road trip- I promise I will return them...

_Those fucking Lamb brothers are all the same aren’t they?_ Logan thought as he paced in the holding cell. In the eight years since he had last been in Holding Cell Two, the place hadn’t changed a bit. Don Lamb had placed him in this same hideous cell during high school and college and once again, here he was for a crime he didn’t commit. When would they learned that when something went wrong in this God forsaken town, he wasn’t the one to blame? He had already been here for two very long nights and all of yesterday. Logan wished he knew how to eviscerate  this new Lamb. What a fucking idiot! He had worked so hard to become someone that he was proud of and not the screw up that he was before. Granted, the last time he was here, he had actually deserved it. Remembering that last time made Logan simultaneously both cringe and be a little proud.

It had happened after Veronica had left, which could only be described as his lowest point ever... His favorite bar had already cut him off and called a cab for him, and just for shits and giggles he had given the cabbie Weevil’s address as his destination. After getting dropped off at Weevil’s, Logan started walking around, not having spent too much time in the area, at least not since the summer of the 09er & PCHer feud. Logan ended up finding himself in the seediest bar he had ever laid eyes  on. This place made the River Stix look like the Neptune Grande.

The benefit of a place like this was that they didn’t ask for ID and didn’t care how drunk he actually was. All he knew was that he threw down a 100 dollar bill and said he wanted to get wasted. So when his glass was empty, they filled it back up again, no questions asked. It was a simple bar until they turned on their TV. Logan had heard them talking about some video that the crowd would want to see, but all Logan wanted to do was drink. Logan remembered hearing the video start and that it sounded familiar, but was too shit-faced to really think much about it. Also, the other guys there had been so loud that he couldn’t really hear what was going. It wasn’t until someone had said; “Oh my God, that’s Veronica Mars! The rumors of her being a skank in high school were true.”

That was all it took, hearing the name that Logan had been spending the night trying to forget, he sobered up pretty quickly. Logan looked over at the TV and was surprised to see that it wasn’t up in a corner somewhere, but on top of an old book stand. Something definitely wasn’t right about this bar, but Logan would have to figure that out another time. Veronica’s sex tape was playing, and Logan didn’t know whose face he should smash first. He decided to start with the TV. Starting a six on one fight probably wasn’t the best idea.  He was on the ground  in the middle of being kicked in the ribs when he realized that he wasn’t in a bar. He was in the home of one of the PCHers.

When Logan woke up he found himself in his usual cell, with Cliff watching him from a table on the outside of the bars. Cliff was kind enough to give him some aspirin and an orange juice box. Feeling like he was back in kindergarten, Logan finished his juice and  handed the box back to Cliff, asking him why he was in jail. Before explaining, Cliff walked over and pulled a flask from his jacket pocket. “If your hangovers are anything like mine, you’ll need a shot of this. You also might need that while I tell you what happened.”

As it turned out, Weevil had seen the cabbie stop in front of his house and watched as Logan Echolls of all people got out and started to walk up to his door as the cab drove away. Once the cab was gone though, Logan stumbled away from Weevil’s door and started walking down the street. Weevil followed him and wondered why he had gone into Bootsie’s house, figuring that Logan had some business that he was doing with the PCHers. He and Logan had worked together at one point and Blondie wasn’t around anymore, so it really didn’t matter. So he went back home, grabbed his car and went to grab a beer. On his way home, he saw Logan on the ground in front of Bootsie’s house next to a broken TV, and the police there taking a statement. Logan was being held for breaking and entering, destruction of property, and assault. Weevil called Cliff to help Logan, but didn’t want to help any more than that. Although Weevil did tell Bootsie that he had gotten what he deserved by hanging the stolen Bud Light neon sign in his bedroom window.

By the time Logan was released, he was starting to remember how he got there, but there were still some parts of the story that Logan never fully understood. Upon leaving though, Logan realised that Weevil had found another way to help. Once the bail was set and Logan was free to go, Logan had called Dick for a ride home, and Dick had shown up in a piece of shit car. Weevil had stopped by and told Dick that the paparazzi had been camped outside the Sheriff’s station and told him to take Logan out the back in the crap car. They ended up buying the car from Weevil, so that any time either he or Dick were leaving the Sheriff’s station they wouldn’t be seen. Logan had only had to use it for himself the one time, but when Dick had spiraled a year later, it became useful again.

Thinking of the last time he was here, Logan began to think of all the other times he had spent there. As he sat on the bunk, he was grateful that at least this time he would be alone in the cell.

Almost twelve years later, he still vividly remembered walking into the cell and finding Aaron hiding in the corner. Even though the bastard was dead, Logan still had nightmares of not only the torture he endured at his father’s hand, but mostly of what Aaron had done to Lily to give her the bruises that Weevil had always blamed him for, and how badly Lily had suffered when Aaron had killed her. But even worse than that nightmare was the one where he had to stand idly by and watch the scene that Veronica had described to him from when she was up against his dad. Feeling like he was being dragged down with Duncan’s medications and having to watch as Aaron knocked Veronica out and placed her in that fridge, the fight with Keith that followed, as well as the fire was by far the worst nightmare in his rotation of demons that haunted him. He wished he knew how to make Aaron stop making him feel worthless from beyond the grave.

He thought of the other times as well, the worst by far, besides finding himself in a cell with Aaron, had to be when Veronica had actually thought that he could’ve murdered Lily. The first and second times that he and Veronica had tried to date had both ended so badly, but then again that could be said about every time he and Veronica ended. How was it that Veronica could have such an affect on him. Lily knew how to hurt him, and she did it often. But with Veronica, she eviscerated him, and most of the time didn’t even realize that she was doing it. It was one of the reasons that he had broken up with her before Christmas in college. Which of course reminded him of his favorite time being in this particular cell. Smashing in the cops windshield so that he would be placed in the cell had been one of his better ideas. He had learned enough about the younger of the Lamb brothers to know that he wouldn’t think twice about putting Logan in the same cell with Mercer and Mercer’s toadie Moe. The fact that he had only been charged with vandalism was one of the perks of being an 09er in Neptune. The cards hadn’t always been in his favor, but that day it was. Although he often wondered if Veronica had ever even heard about that story. She never brought it up, and she would’ve called him out for being a bonehead as well as giving him a verbal lashing for defending her when it wasn’t necessary.

All he knew was that he was thankful that Cliff was willing to take his call, and help him get set up with a bail hearing, and he would be out of this God forsaken place soon.

Dick had thought that his days of bailing Logan out of jail were done with. Logan was the grown up now, the responsible one; the Navy had taken the asshole out of Logan. But Dick had to admit that this version of Logan was better than the version where Logan had his balls in a vice grip courtesy of the biggest piece of RDK, Rich Dude Kryptonite, Dick had ever met. Sure Ronnie had her good points, she had even helped him out a few times, but she had done her share of screwing up his life, although he felt lucky compared to what she had done to Logan. She had only expedited the process of exposing Big Dick as the con artist he really was, and made it so his little brother couldn’t kill anyone else besides himself. Dick had forgiven her for those things, but fucking with Logan the way she had, Dick was thankful she was gone.

The ride home from the station in the piece of shit car that they hadn’t had to use in years was too silent for Dick’s mind, so he kept trying to brighten Logan’s spirits. But Dick being Dick, his idea of brightening spirits only seemed to piss off Logan. Finally Logan told him that he was trying to figure out the shit he had to take care of with the Navy as well as deleting all the emails from TMZ, and the other leeches wanting him to comment on the case. It was times like this that Logan resented the lack of originality when it came to the email address he was assigned to with the Navy. Any idiot could figure out Logan.Echolls@USNavy.gov.

After the lack of enthusiasm on the car ride home Dick left Logan to his own devices at the beach house. But it wasn’t long before Logan hesitantly approached, and Dick felt the back of his hairs rise as he knew what was coming.

“So I was thinking, I’ve gotten at least fifteen offers from lawyers wanting to represent my case.” Logan began tentatively, knowing how Dick would react once Logan said what he wanted to say. “It’s going to be the case of the decade, like all Echolls trials should be. And Cliff has refused to go near this one for me since Lamb is already overloading his case load. I think that I should get someone to help me vet out the scumbags from who will actually believe me and win the case for me. What do you think?” Logan looked up at Dick; he knew that from Dick’s face that he had rambled a little too much. _So much for not showing my hand too soon,_ Logan thought to himself.

“Don’t even think about it! You are not calling that Bitch for help even though I know she saved your ass every other time you were accused of murdering someone.”  Dick said his peace and hoped that was all he would have to say on the matter so he tried to lighten the mood; “Oh yeah, is this murder number three or four?”

Logan glared at Dick, “Its murder number three, they arrested me twice for Felix. Don’t call Veronica a Bitch, only I can call her that.”

Dick wasn’t giving up, since he knew that Logan might already be a lost cause; “Fine! I won’t call her a Bitch if you don’t call  her at all.” Dick could tell that Logan was still planning on making that call. He didn’t want to be a complete ass, at least not to Logan, but he decided the low blow was the only way to get through to him. “Logan, you can’t call her. She hasn’t given you a second thought since she walked out of Neptune. She doesn’t give a flying monkey’s fuck about you anymore.” Dick saw Logan get ready for a fight, but continued on. “If you call her she will blow you off, just like she has blown off Wally and Ghost World every time they try and get her to come into town. And if by some miracle she does actually come, she will just take your balls and put them back into that vice grip that she had you in for years. Then leave without saying goodbye. Again.”

“Thanks for the vote in confidence man, you’re a real friend.” Logan said as he punched Dick in the gut. Logan had to hope that Dick was wrong, because he immediately went outside and called the number that he had looked at almost every day for nearly nine years and never called. It was now or never. Logan knew despite Dick’s objections, and the points he made, that Veronica still cared for him a little, the last look she gave him in the Hearst cafeteria told him that much. He took a deep breath and hit send. It wasn’t as if his life could really get any worse than it already was.

Sitting in the waiting room of the Truman Mann lobby for the second day in a row should have excited Veronica. It was what she wanted. But she sat there thanking whatever God there might be that the interview was early in the day. If she had to have waited all day for an interview like the day before, it would’ve have made her insane. She already had a restless night and was doing everything in her power to not think of Logan and whatever his situation was at the moment. Normal was still the watchword after all. But why did she have the distinct impression that she should run away. It wasn’t fair for her to be sitting here living a normal life. She knew where she should be, but she couldn’t disappoint her father again. She would have to ignore the temptation that was eating away at her heart. She wanted to flat out run to JFK and get on the next flight heading towards Neptune. She had her phone out of her bag and was holding onto it like it was a lifeline.  Normally she would have it in her bag, tucked away, like a professional. But she had set up an alert on the TMZ app for anything Logan related to come through so she was watching the screen every few minutes while waiting for the interviewer to call her in. She looked away for a moment, trying to decide what the right thing to do was.

When the phone began to vibrate, the buzzing loud enough for others to hear, she remembered why she turned her phone off in these situations. She looked at the screen in shock. The face that she had been seeing in her head was now looking back at her with that smirk that she secretly loved.

As much as she had been ready to bolt a minute ago, seeing his call brought up every emotion and every memory that she had spent the morning trying to get out of her head. So Veronica swiped across the screen ignoring his call and then placed the phone next to her chest. _What the HELL?_ _Logan still has my number, his number hasn’t changed, and he is calling me._ This does not fall into the normal is the watchword she had been struggling to maintain over the last nine years.

When the call didn’t immediately go to voicemail, Logan was relieved. He couldn’t believe that she was taking his call, maybe she didn’t hate him after all, but why wasn’t she talking? Then he heard the faint heartbeat, and he knew that he was crazy even as thought it, but he was actually listening to Veronica’s heart and it was racing. She was not okay, she was worried. How was it that after spending almost nine years apart, he could still recognize the rhythms of her heart and what she was thinking along with those rhythms?  Did she think that she ignored the call? He was pretty sure that she did. He didn’t want to let go of hearing that heartbeat, he had desperately missed it, but he knew that if he called again, she would answer.

Even though it was only a few seconds of the sound that he had never thought he would miss as much as he did now, Logan hung up and immediately hit send again.

Up against her heart, Veronica’s phone began to buzz again. She had no question in her mind, it was Logan. She looked around knowing that she might miss being called in to her interview, but just as she knew she would give up the Kane scholarship to see Aaron’s verdict being read, she would also risk this job for Logan’s call.

Letting the phone ring a few more times, Veronica made her way to the hallway and gathered her courage. She had imagined so many times seeing his contact page light up. She had told him that he was out of her life forever, but he had to have known that she didn’t really mean it. She hid it well, but every birthday, every Christmas, and especially on the anniversary of Lily’s death she had wished for her phone to light up. But it wasn’t as if she had been making those calls to him. A part of her wished that he would make a move and ask her to come home to him. If he ever did, a part of her knew that she would grant the request. Breathing out a sigh, she knew Logan was calling for help, not for her love again. That was too much to expect. So she psyched herself up with the best line she could think of to fall in line with what had to be done.

“So, what’s new with you?” Veronica asked trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing and pretending that they had talked just last week and not nine years ago.

Hearing Veronica’s flippant voice, and her lack of wanting to socialize, he knew that he needed to get right to the point. He deflated and flatly said, “I need your help, Veronica.”

It had been years since she had heard that phrase, and it hit her harder than she had been prepared for, especially coming from Logan and hearing the vulnerability in his voice. She took a moment to compose herself. Then she remembered that she hadn’t worked a case in almost nine years. She thought to herself, _I help him, I’m probably only going to make things worse_. So she finally, hesitantly replied; “I don’t really do that anymore.”

Maybe Dick was right, maybe Veronica didn’t actually care about him, but he had to at least try, even if Veronica was already in the process of rejecting him. A little upset at the rejection, but not one to give up easily, he asked; “Look, can you just hear me out?”

There was a moment of tense silence then they both began to speak at once. Making it nearly impossible for to actually understand what the other said.

“Look, I need a friend to help with my lawyer situation.”

“Of course I’ll help but you’re going to have to give me something to work with.”

With the overlapping conversations both Logan and Veronica relaxed a little. Helping them both be able to actually talk to one another without over thinking every word that they said. Veronica even allowed herself to laugh a little, something she hardly ever did in New York.

Hearing her laugh and trying to put the words together that Veronica must have said, he replied after a moment. “Am I back at Neptune High in the girls’ bathroom? I could’ve sworn that you just asked me to give you something to work with.”

“Well if you’re in the girls’ bathroom at Neptune, I’m watching you tell Tina from the Grande that I am your _friend_. Wait why are you asking for help with a lawyer, and what kind of situation? I was sure that you were calling about a murder case that I had recently heard about.” Veronica countered. She definitely didn’t need to think of Logan in the girls’ bathroom at Neptune, because to be completely honest, she wouldn’t mind some spinning kisses right now. But he was right, she had practically repeated what she said to him senior year, when he had taken every bit of courage he had then to ask for her help.

At her words, Logan had heard part of the old Veronica, the one that Mac had said barely existed. Was that his doing? Wanting to throw a good quip back, but not sure how far he could go he finally replied; “ _Touche!_ Cliffy has denied helping with my latest evildoing accusation, and I hear you give great lawyer.” Logan paused for a moment when an actual giggle came over the line. Veronica didn’t _giggle_ unless she was really happy or playing a role. The thought that he was making Veronica happy after all that Mac had described of her New York life made him incredibly happy. But he still didn’t want to get his hopes up. Plus if Dick had seen the smile he had on, as well as the actual hard on he had simply from her voice, Dick would lecture him about Rich Dude Kryptonite again.

So he went back to survival mode. “Yeah, so like you heard, I apparently murdered Carrie Bishop, and it is going to be the trial of the decade. I think they had said the same thing about Aaron’s trial. I guess it must be an Echolls thing. But I have over fifteen lawyers offering their services, and I don’t think it’s the good kind. I need someone who I _trust_ to help me figure out who’s just trying to make a name for themselves through me, and who will actually help me. Out of everyone, I’ve known you the longest and I trust you more than I trust anyone else in the world. Please help me Mars-Wan-Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” He knew he was getting too sentimental for her so he had to dial it back a little so that she would actually think about what he was asking.

If anyone wanted to know how to take Veronica’s emotions on a one minute roller-coaster ride, they could take lessons from Logan. How was he able to do that to her, even after nine years? He made her happy, giddy, loved, irritated, sad, and proud all at the same time. “How do you propose I help you? Do we Skype with these lawyers and then figure out which one is the least sleazy? I don’t know how to help you from the other side of the country.” Veronica opened her mouth to say more, but couldn’t actually suggest her going to Neptune.

“Well…” Logan began hoping that she wouldn’t outright deny him; “I was hoping that I could buy you a plane ticket to come out here. I could schedule all the interviews with the lawyers to happen on one day, you could spend some time with your dad, and even see Mac and Wallace. It could even just be a day trip, all expenses paid, I’ll even get you a room at the Grande if you don’t want anyone to know that you’ve come into town.” Logan had rushed through his idea, and finally paused for a moment before continuing; “What do you think?”

Veronica looked at her watch realizing that her interview time was coming quickly and it wouldn’t look good for her not to be ready and waiting. As much as she wanted to stay in this moment drinking up the thought of Logan, she knew that she had to take care of this. She had at least grown up that much, even if she was feeling 18 again. She took a breath, and replied; “I think that we can work something out. But I have to be back here next week for a prior commitment so I would have to come out sooner than later.” Veronica surprised herself that she was fully considering this, but having to think about being back to meet Piz’s parents while talking to Logan hurt her head. She continued; “I do however need to go, I’m actually at an interview for a law firm right now, and it’s almost time to go in. I’ll be turning off my phone, but I will call you when I get out. Look into some options in the mean time. I’ll talk to you soon. Okay Logan?” She said his name as a question, because she wanted him to make sure that he knew that they were in contact again, this wasn’t the end for them. She wanted more than anything to be with him.

Logan was ecstatic at her answer, he couldn’t have hoped for a better answer, except that she did mention having to go back to New York, but he had known that was part of the deal. He smiled, as he went to tell her goodbye, knowing that he would speak to her again soon. Thank you Veronica! I’ll talk to you soon” He paused for just a moment, then he added a touch of flirtation to his voice before continuing; “Go get ‘em _Bobcat!_ ”

 _Bobcat!_ She had avoided nature shows, and zoos for years in fear of hearing that word. Yet there it was and it was spoken by the only person who could ever get away with it. And it filled her with more happiness than she had experienced in years. She was practically frozen in place, once again. Then she heard a door open and she came back to reality. She dropped the phone from her ear, and placed it close to her chest, one more time. “Thank you for calling Logan, I didn’t know how badly I needed to hear your voice.” Veronica said to herself before powering down the phone and placing it in her bag.

She now knew that she could help Logan in some way, it wasn’t in the way she had expected, but she could help and she would make sure that whatever lawyer she helped him choose would believe in his innocence as much as she did. She went back into the lobby and knew that with Logan’s situation covered, as well as his vote of confidence. She was going to knock the competition out of the park.

As Logan looked at his phone, he knew that Veronica had thought that the call had ended, he knew her well enough, even if she had grown up and become a softer version of herself, that no version of Veronica would ever say what she really felt if she thought anyone was listening. It reminded him of the times before Lily died when he would pretend to fall asleep on her lap, just to be closer to her; when she would whisper her secrets to him, while stroking his head, when Lily and Duncan were out of the room. But that was one of his secrets, ever since he had met Veronica, he felt like he was being drawn to her. She was one of the few people that he had really trusted and he was always wanting to get to know her better. So over the years, when they were friends, enemies, or lovers, he loved the moments when she had used his sleeping body as a sounding board for the secrets that she could barely stand to tell herself. Although he had to admit that when they were enemies their sophomore and into their junior years in high school, those moments didn’t really happen. The one time they had, he was the coherent one and she was too drunk to remember not to filter her real thoughts. And even now as he was facing murder charges, once again, he felt more guilt for that night, than any night that he wasn’t good enough to stop Carrie from destroying herself.

It took a few moments for Logan to come out of the dream state that he was in and focus on the task Veronica had given him. He wasn’t sure how long her interview would be, but he wanted to make sure that he had several options for her to choose from. If she was going to help him, even if she didn’t think she was qualified with her old skills, he would make sure that she would be taken care of 100%.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I wrote out what I believed to be the timeline, day two is the second longest day of the movie, so I thought I would split it up into two parts. The first phone call that Logan made, where Veronica answered, but thought she had ignored was the inspiration for this story, as well as the actual call, so I felt that it needed to be given a good chunk of the story. 
> 
> Thank you to @Marshmallowtasha for being a fantastic beta for me as well as a friend.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my beta's @marshmallowtasha and @Sweetamara. Also to @Toastanonofmystery who has encouraged me to keep going.


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